Aeronautical wheel



March 24, 1936. R, l,'MLAUGHL-IN I 2,035,175

AERONAUTICAL WHEEL Filed Nov. 8, 1934 2 SheetsSheet l M 24, 19 36. R. J. MCLAUGHLIN 2,035,175

' AERONAUTICAL WHEEL Filed Nbv. 8, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet re IN VEN TOR.

Patented Mar. 24, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE AERONAUTICAL WHEEL Robert J. McLaughlin, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application November 8, 1934, Serial No. 752,163

4 Claims. (01. 170-141) My invention relates to the navigation of the air and to the space above the air. It is a supporting device for air ships and employs a rarefied condition, maintained by centrifugal force, to lift the air ship into the air.

The objects of my invention are; first, to create a vortex around a stationary hub; second, to develop a compression inside the hub; third, to discharge the air through a vent in the lower sur- 1 face of the hub; fourth, to drive a. revolving stream of air through the discharged current of air; fifth, to supply compresed air to the vortex below the hub; and sixth, to secure a lifting force by unequal atmospheric stress inside the aeronautical wheel.

- I attain the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the aeronautical wheel, with parts removed,

showing. the interior arrangements; Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the aeronautical wheel; Fig. 3 is a cross section of the aeronautical wheel; and, Fig. 4 is a vertical section of the aeronautical wheel.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Two annular plates I and 2 are fastened together by a series of curving, radial vanes 3, forming an aeronautical wheel, which is mounted on a fixed horizontal shaft 4. The wheel is supported on the shaft by means -of two screw propellers 5 and 6 whose blades are provided with extensions 1 which are fixed to the annular plates I and 2. The blades of the propellers 5 and 6 serve as the spokes of the aeronautical wheel.

The propellers 5 and 6 revolve rapidly on the bearings 8, 9 and I0, Fig. 4, in the direction indicated by the arrows, Fig. 3, and as they are pitched in opposite directions to impel the air 'inward1y, drive a current of air into the stationaryhub II inanaxialdirection,sothatthereis an impactoftheairinsidethehub II,andaresulting compression of the air. The impact is important for the success of the machine, as

it not only delays the stream of air but destroys its kinetic energy. This is necessary because the descending stream of air gives a downward pull to the air ship.

The kinetic energy is changed into the potential energy of compressed air, which changes immediately into the kinetic energy of the downward discharge of air. This operation momentarily delays the descending current of air and lessens itsdownwarddragontheairshi 'o. Fromthe compression of the air in the hub II the stream is driven downward through a. vent I2 in the base of the hub II.

This hub is mounted on the fixed horizontal shaft 4 by means of four interior spokes I3, Figs. 3v and 4.

The vanes 3 carry a fixed body of air around the outer surface of the stationary hub H. This air cannot escape from the aeronautical wheel because of the atmospheric pressure at the cir- :0 cumference of the wheel, and because of the suction of the partial vacuum maintained at the outer surface of the hub II. This suction is caused by the rapid rotation of the aeronautical wheel and the resulting centrifugal force acting i on the fixed body of rarefied air.

The vanes 3 carry this revolving body of rarefied air across the path of the compressed air discharged downward throughthe vent I2, and the condition of rarefaction in the revolving body 20 of air is thus destroyed below the stationary huh I I. This sudden change from rarefaction to compression in the revolving body of air permits the suction above the hub II to pull the hub upward with a force of several tons. The strain 25 comes on the heavy supporting spokes I3, which are attached to the fixed horizontal shaft 4, and

is carried down to the floor supports I4.

The inner edges of the vanes 3 come very close to the outer surface of the stationary hub II, and 30 the compressed air below the vent I2 is not carried above the hub II. The rarefaction at the outer and upper surface-of the hub is constantly by centrifugal force acting on the air revolving around the hub. 35

The compression inside the huh I I will amount to about one pound per square inch when the diameter of the hub is about six feet and the screw propellers are. making eighteen hundred revolutions per minute. In this case the aero- 40 nautical wheel will be about fourteen feet in diameter and at the high speed mentioned above an enormous suction will be developed above the stationary hub I I. It will amount to about 11 pounds per square inch and give a total upward 45 pull of about twenty tons. To this will be added about two tons of upward push from the compression inside the hub. From the upward pull the downward drag of the discharged current will be subh'acted. It will not amount to more than a few hundred pounds.

Verygoodresultswillbesecuredwithanaeronautical wheel about the size indicated in the drawings. with a speed of twelve hundred revolutions per minute.

to keep' the compressed air in the hub from escaping into the rarefied area above the hub I l.

The blades of the screw propellers 5 and 8 will serve as power wheels when the velocity of the discharged air is greater than the pitch distance of the screw propellers. v A one to one pitch ratio will be employed.

The development of centrifugal force requires no power after a uniform speed is attained.

The efliciency will be increased by making the wheel large, and by enlarging the diameter of the hub ll without increasing the size of the vanes 3 a considerable increase in lift will result, but more power will be required with a larger hub.

The actual movement of the air downward will have a reaction more or less in harmony with Newtons second law of motion, but this so called law deals only with positive forces and the momentum of actual movements of masses. The negative lift is not the same thing. It depends upon rarefaction and the absence of air above the hub ll.

Due to the egress of the air discharged from the vent l2 acting upon the outside air in the path of its flow outward, a reaction will take place to bring about motion, while the compression inside the hub II or the partial vacuum outside of the hub II are balanced by the other reactions.

Having described-my invention what I claim is:

1. An aeronautical wheel for air ships consisting of a rapidly revolving annular rotor, an annular space in the said wheel for the development of rarefaction in the air contained in the annular space, radial curving vanes, serving as turbine blades when acted upon by a current of air discharged downward from the axis of the annular wheel, and serving as fans when rotating the air contained in the said annular space; two vertical, annular, parallel plates forming the annular space in the said annular wheel and connected rigidly to the said radial curving vanes; a fixed horizontal shaft, a cylindrical hub connected to said fixed shaft, circular and rectangular vents in said hub for passing of air through the hub and thence through the lower portion of the space in said wheel, and bearings in the opposite ends of the shaft, on which the said annular wheel revolves, and vertical, standing supports on opposite sides of the said annular wheel. rigidly connected, on

one side, to the horizontal shaft, and on the other side, connected by bearings, to the shaft, substantially as described.

2. A vacuum rotor for air ships consisting of an annular wheel, an annular space in the said wheel, radial curving vanes set rigidly in the annular space, two vertical, annular plates connected rigidly to the said vanes; a fixed horizontal shaft, bearings in the opposite ends of the shaft for the rotation of the said annular wheel; vertical, standing supports for the horizontal shaft, rigidly connected to the shaft on one side, and connected to the shaft on the other side by bearings; a fixed cylindrical hub occupying the axial space in the said annular wheel, a plurality of supporting spokes rigidly connecting the hub to the said horizontal shaft, circular vents at opposite ends of the cylindrical hub, a rectangular vent in the lower surface of the cylindrical hub, for the vertical, downward discharge of the air entering the hub in opposite, horizontal directions through the said circular vents, substantially as described.

3. A lifting wheel for air ships, having an annular wheel, an annular space in the said wheel, radial, curving vanes, annular plates connected rigidly to the vanes, a fixed, horizontal shaft, bearings in the opposite ends of the shaft for the rotation of the said annular wheel; vertical, standing supports for the horizontal shaft; a fixed cylindrical hub in the center of the annular wheel, a plurality of supporting spokes connecting the said cylindrical hub to the fixed, horizontal shaft; circular and rectangular vents in the said hub for the passage of air through the hub, and thence through the lower portion of the said annular wheel; two supporting screw propellers set opposite one another on the-said horizontalshaft and driving air through the circular vents to the interior of the cylindrical hub, and thence through the rectangular vent in the lower surface of the hub; extensions from the propeller blades to the outer sides of the annular plates, causing the propellers, the annular plates and the radial vanes to move as one wheel around the horizontal axis shaft; a motor, a motor shaft turning in a bearing set in the upper end of one of the said vertical, standing supports, and fastened rigidly to one of the screw propellers, by means of which the annular wheel and the opposite screw propeller are revolved on the horizontal shaft, substantially as described.

4. A centrifugal lifting device for air ships consisting of an annular wheel, an annular space, radial, curving vanes set in the annular space, annular plates fastened to-the vanes; a cylindrical hub occupying the hollow space at the center of the annular wheel, circular-and rectangular vents in the said hub for the passing of air through the hub, and thence through said annular space, and flanges on the circular vents of the cylindrical hub, sockets on the outer surfaces of the annular, plates into which the hub flanges extend without making a contact with the sockets; flanges on the outer surfaces of the annular plates forming the said sockets, and preventing the entrance of air between the hub and the annular plates intothe rarefied air maintained in the annular space, substantially as described.

ROBERT J. MCLAUGHLIN. 

